Water Heater: Tank or Tankless?

WHICH WATER HEATER IS BEST FOR YOU?

The best time to weigh the pros and cons of water heaters is before you ever need one. When that day comes, all you’ll care about is getting a plumbing estimate and some hot water, pronto! So, before you have to make that emergency plumbing call, take the time now to consider your options. Then you’ll know what to ask – or tell – your Tampa plumbing expert when you call.

Basics of water heating:

In the United States, the vast majority of heaters have 20-80 gallon tanks that fill with cold water which is then heated by coils or elements and stored until needed. Most are gas-fueled, although many Tampa water heaters are all-electric. As the tank of water waits for that next shower or load of laundry, it loses heat. This requires more fuel for reheating – and that’s a drag on efficiency. The holidays are approaching and before everyone wants a shower at the same time you want to run the dishwasher, it may be time to think about an upgrade to your water heater!

Water Main, Sewer Main

IS THE MAIN MY RESPONSIBILITY OR THE UTILITIES COMPANY?

The Main Thing to Remember...

When it comes to plumbing, there are many safe and effective DIY fixes, and you can browse our DIY Plumbing Blog to see many of those. But there are other fixes that require an expert plumber...and a few that require a call to your water company. For a homeowner, it pays to be familiar with the different kinds of issues.

In this article, we’re going to talk about The Main Thing: water and sewer mains. How do you know your problem is in the main lines? Do you call the plumber or the water company? The answers aren’t always obvious, but there are a few guidelines. First, if you see signs of main line problems (clogged toilets, slow drainage, poor water pressure that isn’t linked to a faucet, etc.), call your Tampa Bay plumbing expert, Emory Garland Plumbing, right away. Staying on top of these issues can prevent or delay the bigger ones.

Kitchen Faucets, Bathroom Faucets

DIY - OR CALL A PLUMBER TO FIX MY FAUCET?

Does My Faucet Need a Plumber?

The short answer is: maybe not. A faucet’s owner can often take care of the most common problems (leaks and low flow) with some simple tools and a quick online tutorial (we like this video for fixing faucet leaks from Delta).

Small Bathroom Remodel

SMALL SPACE - BIG IMPACT

Remodel Your Bathroom and Make it Feel Spacious

Everyone wants a beautiful bathroom and thanks to all of the home improvement and remodeling TV shows, we see all the possibilities for our small bathrooms. We want function without compromising aesthetics. We want it to be practical and maintain visual harmony. Let’s look at how to maximize our cramped and crowded bathrooms.

Design

Every inch counts in a little bathroom so get creative with the space. By using large floor tiles and light, solid colors you will create a feeling of space. Dark colors make us feel crowded. When the same color or tile is used on the floor and continued all the way up the shower wall, it makes the room feel bigger. Incorporating a glass door or no door at all on the shower feels even more spacious.

Washing Machine Overflow Emergency

Preventive Steps and Emergency Damage Control for Washing Machine Flooding

Safety First

Water and electricity do not mix. Do not unplug the washing machine. Go directly to the circuit breaker or fuse box and cut off the electrical current to your machine. Pressing the “cancel” button on the washing machine’s control panel may automatically cause your machine to start the drain cycle and then you may have a bigger mess. Once the water has been removed, you can restart the electricity and plug and unplug the machine as needed.

Go Tankless - Water Heaters for your home

What is green, can end some family fights, save you money, may come with a rebate, and is recognized by Consumer Digest? Tankless Water Heaters can save you money, help you save the planet, and provide an unending supply of hot water.

Do you have someone in your home that seems to drain all the hot water out of the tank every time they take a shower? What if you have more than one shower in use at a time and are running the dishwasher? Can your hot water system keep up? A man with a leaking hot water tank and three teenagers daughters writes an article about his decision making process and his satisfaction after going tankless that you can read here.

Go Tankless - Commercial Water Heaters

What is green, offers substantial savings, may come with a rebate, and is recognized by Consumer Digest? Tankless Water Heaters can save you money, help you save the planet, and provide an unending supply of hot water.

Commercial Uses for Tankless Water Heaters

A New Jersey Country Club which has 5 kitchens, plus locker rooms for both men and women, used a steam boiler the size of a mini van that heated a 750 gallon hot water holding tank. The boiler ran 24/7 every day of the year. When it reached the end of its life they wanted a sustainable alternative. The boiler system was replaced with five high tech Navien wall hung tankless units. It took up one tenth of the space and saved them money. You can read the article here and see a picture of the finished units. You can read about Fosgate Country Club saving up to $9000 a month with their efficient Navien units here.

Exploding Toilet Recall Again!

When you lift the lid of your toilet tank, do you see this? If you do see this flushing system, stop using your toilet now.

Flushmate says on their website that “The system can burst at or near the vessel weld seam releasing stored pressure. This pressure can lift the tank lid and shatter the tank, posing impact and laceration hazards to consumers and property damage”.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warns consumers to stop using the Flushmate III Pressure-Assisted Flushing System “Due to Impact and Laceration Hazards.” In June of 2012, Flushmate issued a voluntary recall of their flush assist system and in January 2014, they expanded the recall. The first recall included 2.3 million units and the second recall is over 300 thousand units.

If you have one of these, please stop using it, even if it seems to be working perfectly. Flushmate recommends that you turn off the water supply to the toilet, flush it to release any pressure, and contact them through their Flushmate recall page for a free repair kit.